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THE PHILOSOPHY 



LAUGHTER AND SMILING. 






?1 



INTELLIGENT, THOUGHTFUL, AND REFLECTING, 

OF EVERY RANK AND STATION, 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 



PBEFACE. 



Although its subject is laughter, the pre- 
sent volume is by no means a jest-book. 
Quite the contrary. In the following pages 
this subject is investigated carefully and 
elaborately, and with all the seriousness and 
gravity becoming a scientific or philosophi- 
cal inquiry. 

The phenomenon of laughter is brought 
into the field of vision in all its most impor- 
tant phases — anatomical, physiological, in- 
tellectual, and moral, by which it will be 
perceived that the subject of laughter is 
<c no laughing matter." 



viii Preface. 

It must, however, be confessed that, not- 
withstanding a considerable amount both of 
time and labour has been expended in the 
composition of the following essay, it is yet 
only a rough outline of this very important 
and interesting subject, which may, by 
further elaboration — (if time and oppor- 
tunity permit) — be wrought out into a 
much more complete treatise. 

I shall, nevertheless, have accomplished 
my present object if I merely succeed in 
drawing public attention to the facts which 
I have brought forward, and to the great 
probability of the inferences which I have 
ventured to suggest, so as to induce the 
intelligent and observing to give them a 
due amount of consideration. 

Next in importance to those who have 
been the means of establishing truths 
worthy of acceptance, may be ranked those 



Preface. ix 

who discover and point out opinions worthy 
of examination. 

In making these few prefatory remarks 
I feel forcibly prompted to deprecate that 
particular amount of adverse criticism 
which, under ordinary circumstances, might 
fairly be applied to several parts of the fol- 
lowing sketch. I allude to the many repe- 
titions which I have thought it necessary 
to make in illustration of my theory. 

I have no doubt that this tautology will 
be condemned in the most emphatic manner 
by many of my readers who are blessed with 
retentive memories, and who read carefully - y 
but the great majority of readers do not 
possess these important qualifications. 

Moreover, I may be allowed to state that 
my theme is so entirely novel — I may say 
unique — and the opinions which I have 
ventured to advance are so diametrically 



x Preface. 

opposed to those which are universally 
entertained on the subject, that I felt com- 
pelled, in justice to my argument, to make 
use of considerable reiteration. 

If I need further exculpation, I can safely 
shelter myself under the authority and 
example of no less a dignitary than the 
famous Archbishop Fenelon. 

On one occasion this great man was 
at a large party, in which were several 
superficial critics, who gave utterance to 
some rather depreciating remarks on the 
Archbishop having repeated himself in cer- 
tain of his literary productions. 

He modestly requested to have the pas- 
sages pointed out to which allusion had been 
made. This was very readily done. " Ah," 
said he, "I perceive you recollect the pas- 
sages ; and that they might be recollected teas 
my reason for repeating them'' 



Preface. xi 

I respectfully request tlie reader to bear 
this in mind. 



The principal illustrations have been exe- 
cuted by the Brothers Taylor, so well known 
as first-rate portrait-engravers. Their excel- 
lence requires no eulogium. 

G. VASEY. 
May, 1875. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Preface vii 

Introduction 17 



CHAPTEE I. 

First — On the pecuniary expense of laughter. 
Second — On those who are enriched by it. 
Third — On its imagined advantages and 
benefits 23 



CHAPTER II. 

First — On the organs involved in the action of 
laughter. Second — On the means by which 
he habit of laughing is induced. Third — On 
the state of feeling to which it gives rise. . 27 



xiv Contents. 



CHAPTER III. 

Further observations on the means employed to 
produce what is termed laughter in infants, 
and on the injurious effects which result 
therefrom 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

On the distinction between voluntary actions 
and those that are involuntary, with a refe- 
rence to the organs which are employed 
to produce them . . . . . .36 

CHAPTER V. 

Descriptive of the physical effects of laughter 
on the organs of respiration . . . .40 

CHAPTER VI. 

Is it a confirmed fact (as is universally asserted) 
that laughter is an original instinct? In 
other words, Is man really a laughing 
animal? 42 



Contents. xv 



CHAPTER VII. 

On the relation of laughter to wit . . .51 

CHAPTER VIII. 

On the logical relation of the action of laughter 
to the ideas, objects, or actions which excite 
laughter 55 

CHAPTER IX. 

On the criterion by which to distinguish natural 
or instinctive actions and habits from those 
which are acquired . . . . .59 

CHAPTER X. 

On the intellectual and moral status of the 
ordinary incentives to laughter . . .61 

CHAPTER XI. 

On the moral and intellectual characteristics of 
those who are addicted to laughing . . 65 



xvi Contents. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

Are laughter and joking, badinage and fun, 
consistent with dignity of character ? or are 
they conducive to the maintenance of a 
beneficial political or social influence ? . 68 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The verdict of Shalispeare on the moral 
character of laughter . . . . .73 



CHAPTER XIV. 

A brief comparison between gravity and levity 
— the grave and the gay. — Have we any rule 
to direct us in the exercise of laughter? . 77 



CHAPTER XV. 

On the degrading and vicious consequences of 
the habit of laughing 79 



Contents. xvii 



CHAPTER XYI. 

On the injurious effects of nursery rhymes and 
juvenile literature in stultifying the minds of 
children and youths by furnishing them with 
extravagant lies and egregious nonsense to 
excite their wonder and induce them to laugh 83 

CHAPTER XVII. 

A venial digression touching the false and im- 
perfect methods now in vogue of teaching and 
training the young 87 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Milton versus Shakspeare on the subject of 
laughter 90 

CHAPTER XIX. 

A comparison between those sayings and doings 
which are laughed at and those which are not 

laughed at 94 

b 



xviii Contents 



CHAPTER XX. 

The character of Laughers compared with the 
character of those who are thoughtful and 
serious . . . . . .97 

CHAPTEE XXL 

Classification of Laughs and Smiles . . 100 

CHAPTEE XXII. 

On the broad line of demarcation which sepa- 
rates laughter from smiling . . . . 104 

CHAPTEE XXIII. 

Further illustrations of the distinction between 
a laugh and a smile ..... 113 

CHAPTEE XXIV. 

Is it a fact (as is generally affirmed) that those 
who are accustomed to laugh are good- 
tempered, generous, and philanthropic ? And, 
on the contrary, that those who seldom or 
never laugh are gloomy, repulsive, and mis- 
anthropic characters who ought to be sus- 
pected and shunned ? 129 



Contents. xix 



APPENDIX, 

COLLATERAL AND EXPLANATORY. 



SECTION I. 

PAGE. 

On the various species of tickling, physical, 
intellectual, and moral . . . . .145 

SECTION 11/ 

Kemarks on the effects of physical tickling. — 
Quoted from a French cyclopaedia . . 149 

SECTION III. 

On the extremely horrible and agonising condi- 
tion to which a human being can be reduced 
by systematic tickling 151 

SECTION IV. 

On Mr. Darwin's opinion respecting laughter . 161 



INTRODUCTION. 



It will be freely granted by all those who 
observe and reflect that every community of 
human beings (more especially those which 
consider themselves civilised) practise a 
thousand habits, and entertain ten thousand 
opinions, of which they can give no rational 
account. 

This, however, will cease to excite our 
astonishment when we consider that all the 
knowledge we receive, as well as all the 
habits we contract, are received and con- 
tracted with the most unreserved confidence, 
without doubting, questioning, or even re- 
flecting. 



18 Introduction. 



Be it observed, moreover, that the 
mechanical parrot - and - monkey training 
which is now so universal is commenced 
and incessantly persevered in, long before 
we are at all capable of discriminating be- 
tween that which is good and that which is 
evil — between that which is true and that 
which is false — and, consequently, before we 
are able to judge or determine whether the 
knowledge which we are receiving, and the 
habits we are acquiring, are true and bene- 
ficial or false and injurious. 

Under these unfavourable circumstances 
we would suggest that one of the happiest, 
as well as one of the most important, ideas 
which can enter the minds of those who are 
earnestly endeavouring to acquire true know- 
ledge (after having been instructed in the 
ordinary routine methods) is that of review- 
ing all their previously- acquired knowledge, 



Introduction. 19 



of doubting and questioning whether or not 
they have been properly taught, and of de- 
termining boldly, but carefully, to investi- 
gate the truth for themselves. 

In this self-investigation we undoubtedly 
labour under a very great disadvantage— 
namely, that of being imbued and sur- 
rounded by a host of prejudices — in other 
words, of judgments formed without exa- 
mination — and these it behoves us abso- 
lutely to renounce if we sincerely desire to 
obtain clear, distinct, and correct know- 
ledge. 

To enable us to overcome this difficulty 
in the most effectual manner (after having 
acquired some amount of experience and 
judgment), we must, in the first place, care- 
fully take stock of all our kinds and degrees 
of knowledge, and give them a thorough 
revision. 



20 Introduction. 



In the second place, we must entirely 
banish those principles and habits which we 
discover to be false, superstitious, or preju- 
dicial, and retain only such as we find on 
examination to be true in principle and 
beneficial in practice. 

Moreover, we must bear in mind that our 
social and domestic habits are invariably the 
result of public opinion, and we must never 
forget that public opinion is chiefly founded 
on ignorance or very imperfect knowledge, the 
result of which is that our daily habits are 
frequently of the most injurious character ; 
bear witness the misery, the vice, the folly, 
the crime which unfortunately ramify through 
all classes of society, the great mass of which 
evils is the consequence of a grossly ignorant 
public opinion. 

The present essay is a humble but earnest 
attempt to investigate the nature and ques- 



Introduction. 21 



tion the propriety of opinions which are all 
but universal upon the subject of a habit 
which is extremely prevalent, and which, in 
Christendom at least, is regarded with 
unanimous complacence and approbation. 

It must not be supposed for a moment 
that the Author has the most distant idea of 
effecting, by means of the following essay, 
any intellectual or moral revolution ; but he 
feels tolerably confident that his suggestions 
will excite in the minds of the thoughtful a 
persistent train of rational reflection. 



THE PHILOSOPHY 



OF 



LAUGHTER AND SMILING. 



CHAPTEE I. 

First — On the pecuniary expense of laughter. Second 
— On those who are enriched by it. Third — On 
its imagined advantages and benefits. 

1. It is assuredly a great fact, which can- 
not be gainsayed, that an immense majority 
of the inhabitants of most civilised countries 
hold the habit of laughing in such high esti- 
mation, and feel such a craving for the exer- 
cise of it, that collectively they expend vast 
sums of money in procuring the stimulus 
necessary to produce its action. 



24 The Philosophy of 

2. This golden harvest finds its way into 
the pockets of those highly-gifted indi- 
viduals who have acquired the happy knack 
of writing, or mouthing and spouting, those 
facetious words, or of performing those gro- 
tesque actions, which have the magical 
power of contracting our cheeks into 
wrinkles, and distending our jugular veins. 

3. All our comic and farcical writers, 
from Wycherly, Farquhar, Smollett, and 
the like, down to Punch, Fun, and Figaro, 
have realised princely incomes by their 
successful efforts in stimulating the pectoral 
muscles and shaking the diaphragms of their 
numerous readers. 

4. All our clowns and buffoons and comic 
singers have found out a most effectual 
method of ''raising the wind" simply by 
" raising a laugh. 5 ' 

5. The inhabitants of London alone 



Laughter and Smiling. 25 

spend many thousands of pounds annually 
to support in ease and elegance those dex- 
terous and ingenious eccentrics whose only 
business it is to make their auditors or 
spectators laugh. 

6. In former times to keep one fool to 
provoke laughter was considered so choice a 
luxury as only to be indulged in by a king. 
At the present time the common people can 
afford to keep some hundreds. 

7. Whereas formerly it was regarded as a 
rare luxury, it is now looked upon as an 
absolute necessary of life. "Witness the 
multiplicity of our hebdominal facetiae ; 
witness our Alhambras, our Oxfords, and a 
thousand other similar rendezvous of inferior 
notoriety, the managers of which are eagerly 
striving to rival and eclipse each other in 
their efforts to screw the nerves of their 
audiences up to the laughing pitch. 



26 The Philosophy of 

8. He who excites the greatest amount of 
laughter in a given time, either by his pen, 
his pencil, his tongue, or his grimaces and 
"buffoonery, is considered the reigning favou- 
rite pro iem. ; he is greeted with the loudest 
plaudits, and, what is of still more import- 
ance to him, he receives the greatest pecu- 
niary reward. 

9. Indeed, laughter is generally thought 
to be so natural, so cheerful, so convivial, so 
exhilarating, nay, even so healthy, that the 
monitorial proverb of " laugh and grow fat" 
has become as " familiar in our mouths as 
household words." 



Laughter and Smiling. 27 



CHAPTER II. 

First — On the organs involved in the action of 
laughter. Second — On the means by which the 
habit of laughing is induced. Third — On the 
state of feeling to which it gives rise. 

1. What is the physical mechanism by 
which this remarkable convulsion is gene- 
rated ? What are the organs by which the 
phenomenon of laughter is produced ? And 
by what stimuli or agency are they put inta 
motion ? 

2. One of the older anatomists, in a 
Treatise, " De Bisa," gives the following 
account of the mechanism of laughter : — 

3. " No animal," says he, " except man, 
is so capable of being tickled, which is occa- 



28 The Philosophy of 

sioned by their not having the papillae of 
the nerves so exposed as they are in the 
human species, in whom these papillae lie 
very superficially, especially about the sides 
of the chest. As these nerves communicate 
with the nerves which give motion to the 
muscles of breathing, whenever they are 
irritated by being tickled, their vibrations 
are propagated to the communicating nerves, 
which throws the muscles of breathing into 
short, quick, and convulsive motions, which 
is the action of laughter." 

4. Now it cannot fail to have been ob- 
served — and that repeatedly — by all those 
who are not absolutely blind, or mentally 
deficient, that the operation of tickling is 
invariably commenced at a very early period 
of infancy, and children are thus taught and 
accustomed to laugh even before they have 
begun to think. 



Laughter and Smiling. 29 

5. Thus they learn to laugh, not because 
they like it, or because they are pleased, but 
solely because they are tickled; and the 
association of tickling and laughing is so 
intimate, and so instantaneous, that children 
actually begin to laugh even when they 
merely see the hand of another approaching 
with the apparent intention of tickling them. 

6. Moreover, we may remark, en passant \ 
that there are very many habits of an evil 
and injurious tendency to which children are 
introduced so gradually, so imperceptibly, 
and at so very early an age, that the means 
by which these habits have been formed are 
altogether overlooked or forgotten, and the 
habits are regarded, by the superficial and 
unreflecting, as being perfectly natural and 
original instincts. 

7. Moreover, from the circumstance of 
their having been acquired so very early in 



30 The Philosophy of 

life, they become, in most cases, fixed and 
inveterate. Such is the case with the habit 
of laughing. 

8. When we arrive at a capacity of re- 
flecting upon our sensations we perceive, in 
the operation of laughter, a ridiculous and 
absurd kind of feeling, which we find it 
difficult to refer to the class of either plea- 
sure or pain. 

9. It may fairly be described as an 
amphibious sort of sensation, a vague inde- 
finite state of tantalising pleasure in the 
very act of transforming itself into a state 
of painful annoyance, and from which we 
use our utmost endeavours to extricate our- 
selves as quickly as possible. 

10. It is very questionable that children 
would ever begin to laugh if they were not 
stimulated or prompted, but were let alone, 
and treated naturally and rationally. 



Laughter and Smiling. 31 



CHAPTEE III. 

Further observations on the means employed to 
produce what is termed laughter in infants, 
and on the injurious effects which result there- 
from. 

1. It will be perfectly manifest to any 
one who will patiently and carefully and 
perseveringly make the requisite observa- 
tions that infants never do exhibit those 
gaspings of breath, accompanied by the com- 
pulsory and convulsive ejaculations, which we 
<}omplaisantly term laughter, and which we 
fondly imagine are the voluntary expressions 
of pleasure, except at the instigation of the 
nurse or the parent, who jostles or jerks them 
^about, or squeezes them or tickles them, or 



32 The Philosophy of 



suddenly places some glaring or striking 
object before them, or some one jumps about, 
making grotesque or ridiculous motions, 
or abrupt or shrill noises, all of which 
annoyances are incessantly inflicted upon 
the great majority of helpless little infants. 

2. These absurd and preposterous antics 
very naturally startle and frighten the little 
vacant-minded creatures, and excite the 
diaphragm and pectoral muscles into spas- 
modic action, the result of which is convul- 
sive gaspings for breath. 

3. These gaspings for breath gradually 
become more energetic and vocal, and 
ultimately result in those reiterated and 
continued jerkings and heavings of the 
chest which the parents and nurses foolishly 
imagine to be manifestations of pleasure and 
delight, but which, in fact, are nothing more 
nor less than spasmodic and involuntary con- 




A Mother with her Child in her Arms and its Big Sister giggling at it 
and tickling it to make it laugh. 

Loquitur, Fond Mother (Scottice Daft Mither) — " When will my 
darling ducky begin to laugh ?" Big Sister — " Oh, I'll teach him to 
laugh — I'll tickle his little ribs for him, and then he'll soon begin to 
laugh ! Won't you, baby dear ?" 



Laughter and Smiling. 33 

tractions and dilatations of the pectoral 
muscles and the lungs, excited into action 
by those absurd ticklings and stupid 
monkey tricks which have just been 
enumerated. (See Engraving.) 

4. These irrational pranks by mothers and 
nurses are practised so frequently and so 
persistently, and are so invariably and in- 
stantaneously followed by the same spas- 
modic action of the diaphragm and lungs, 
that the association of these very foolish 
and vulgar tricks with the immediate 
agitation of the breathing apparatus ulti- 
mately becomes a fixed and permanent 
association, and continues to influence the 
manners of most individuals through the 
whole course of their lives. 

5. Furthermore, these absurd and stupid 
excitements are not only unnecessary and 
vulgar, they are positively mischievous, pro- 



34 The Philosophy of 

ducing effects which are invariably injurious, 
and sometimes fatal. 

6. If these fantastic and insane antics 
were never practised upon infants, it is 
morally certain that they would never 
acquire that tendency to those convulsive 
twitchings which we denominate laughter, 
and which, doubtless, in innumerable in- 
stances, bring on those convulsive fits which 
children are so subject to, and which, not 
unfrequently, end in death. 

7. Those fits of laughter which are com- 
monly called hearty (but which might more 
appropriately be termed violent) are always 
constrained, never spontaneous. 

8. Fits of laughter never put the body 
into a pleasant or comfortable state, and we 
invariably endeavour to put a stop to a fit 
of laughter as speedily as possible. 

9. Coughing is a convulsion somewhat 



Laughter and Smiling. 35 

allied to laughing ; they seem to be two 
species of the same genus : a fit of laughing 
frequently terminates in a fit of coughing. 

10. The physiological fact is that cough- 
ing and laughing are both performed by the 
same important organs, and they both have 
■a very similar influence on the lungs and 
brain, and that influence is always of a 
painful and inj urious character. 



36 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTER IV. 

On the distinction between voluntary actions and 
those that are involuntary, with a reference to 
the organs which are employed to produce 
them. 

1. To enable us more clearly to under- 
stand the nature and operation of the phe- 
nomenon of laughter, let us briefly refer to 
the well-known fact that some actions are 
voluntary, while others are involuntary. 
Our present investigation requires that we 
should carefully distinguish the different 
natures of those two species of action. 

2. For example, speaking and walking 
are voluntary actions. We can walk when 



Laughter and Smiling. 37 

we feel inclined, and we can talk when we 
desire to do so. 

3. But sneezing is an involuntary act, as 
also is coughing ; and so is any kind of con- 
vulsion. Breathing is likewise an involun- 
tary act, and this function is performed by 
means of the pectoral muscles and the dia- 
phragm, which are regularly stimulated by 
the atmospheric air which passes down the 
trachea into the lungs. 

4. Now if we observe the very com- 
mencement of those actions which are uni- 
versally acknowledged to be natural and 
voluntary, we find that they never require 
any artificial or external stimulus to induce 
or provoke their manifestations. 

5. For instance, all healthy children have 
a natural and instinctive tendency to move 
their arms and legs, and to kick and sprawl 
about in every possible direction, quite 



38 The Philosophy of 

spontaneously, and without any instigation 
or external prompting whatever. 

6. In like manner, their vocal organs are 
naturally prone to action, and thus they 
begin to utter their first simple articulations 
of "mamma," "babba," and other similar 
elementary sounds, and these operations are 
performed (as we may readily observe) quite 
spontaneously, and without any extraneous 
impulse. 

7. Now, everybody knows that the legs 
and arms, as well as the vocal organs, belong 
to the voluntary system, or that system of 
organs which is under the influence of the 
will. 

8. But the diaphragm and the pectoral 
muscles (which, besides being the organs 
connected with the essential function of 
breathing, are likewise the organs which are 
concerned in producing laughter) are not 



Laughter and Smiling. 39 

voluntary, but only act involuntarily from 
the natural stimulus of the atmosphere upon 
the lungs, the result of which is respiration. 
9. It is . extremely improbable (indeed, 
almost impossible) that these involuntary 
organs — namely, the pectoral muscles and 
the diaphragm — would start into convulsion 
(which they assuredly do in the act of 
laughing) unless they were acted upon by 
an unnatural and improper stimulus. 



40 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTER V, 

Descriptive of the physical effects of laughter on 
the organs of respiration. 

1. In the paroxysm of laughter the lungs 
are dilated, and so they remain till the 
cause ceases. But while the fit of laughter 
continues the blood cannot be transmitted 
freely and naturally through the lungs. 

2. Hence we can readily account for the 
redness and swelling of the neck, face, and 
head during a fit of laughter. The blood, 
not being allowed to pursue its course through 
the lungs, is unnaturally and dangerously 
retarded in the veins and arteries, and thus 
causes the redness in the neck, face, and 
head. 



Laughter and Smiling. 41 

3. If the passage through the lungs be 
impeded for more than a few seconds the 
brain becomes congested, apoplexy ensues, 
and in very many cases ends fatally. 

4. Numerous instances are on record in 
which violent straining and fits of coughing, 
which have been attended with a full and 
long- continued inspiration, have terminated 
in the same fatal manner. 



42 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTER VI. 

Is it a confirmed fact (as is universally asserted) 
that laughter is an original instinct ? In other 
words, Is man really a laughing animal ? 

1. Having briefly described the anatomy 
and physiology of laughter, and its patho- 
logical action, let us now inquire if universal 
experience can be brought forward to prove 
that mankind are naturally stimulated to 
laugh. 

2 . It has been affirmed ten thousand times, 
and is, moreover, firmly and universally 
believed, that man is naturally a laughing 
animal, and that it is one of his original and 
peculiar instincts to laugh. 



Laughter and Smiling. 43 

3. Upon a mature consideration, however, 
this assertion appears to be very doubtful. 

4. It is certainly a fact that this notion 
has always prevailed, and its truth has 
always been taken for granted : no one has 
even questioned it ; consequently, no evidence 
has ever been set forth in its defence. 

5. The bold assertion has gone forth that 
man is a laughing animal, and straightway, 
in all ages, it has received the most popular 
sanction. 

6. Nevertheless it still remains an open 
question, and we are now in a position to 
state that many facts and arguments are 
ready to be marshalled in order to show 
that the only foundations upon which this, 
inveterate opinion has been so long supported, 
are popular ignorance and that childish 
credulity which is ever the handmaid of 
ignorance. 



44 The Philosophy of 

7. Anatomical and physiological facts 
have already been adduced to show that 
laughter is not the spontaneous and in- 
stinctive function of the organs which are 
engaged to produce it, and that they must 
be stimulated by some influence, which, 
obviously, is neither rational nor grateful. 

8. Moreover, the following enumeration 
of facts will, we feel confident, satisfactorily 
prove that the habit of laughing is by no 
means universal among mankind. It is 
extremely important to keep this in view. 

9. For if the act of laughing were truly 
one of man's natural functions, it would be 
universal : all the inhabitants of every coun- 
try, whether savage or civilised, would in- 
variably exercise the faculty. 

10. We at once acknowledge the obvious 
fact that an immense number of human 
beings do laugh, but these are principally 



Laughter and Smiling. 45 

restricted to those countries where what is 
called civilisation has made considerable 
progress — where vice and dissipation and 
all manner of crime abound ; and, above all, 
where levity and frivolity, and every species 
of folly, constitute the predominant cha- 
racteristics of the inhabitants, as in England 
at the present day, to a very great extent, 
and in France to a very much greater. 

11. In such communities the habit of 
laughing is very prevalent, but it is by no 
means universal even in those countries. 

12. On the other hand it ig equally true 
that in all zmcivilised tribes, among whom 
vice and crime are comparatively rare — 
where levity and frivolity are never seen, 
and where the manners of the people are 
simple and unsophisticated — in such com- 
munities laughter may be said to be entirely 
unknown. 



46 The Philosophy of 

13. The mothers among these savage 
tribes never descend to the excessive puerility 
of tickling or otherwise stimulating their 
children during infancy. They have no 
follies, or absurdities, or vices to laugh at — 
consequently they never laugh. 

14. Look at the North American In- 
dians, especially before they were contami- 
nated by intercourse with Europeans, and 
when their only crime was that of war, which 
they practised in common with the inhabi- 
tants of all civilised and Christian nations. 

15. By the united testimony of those 
Europeans who have travelled among them 
we learn that the North American Indians 
never discompose their features by laughter ; 
•and this has been corroborated by the writer's 
personal experience. 

16. They naturally preserve a stoical and 
unvarying equanimity. They neither laugh 



Laughter and Smiling. 47 

nor cry. They are imperturbable under every 
vicissitude. These are the true and genuine 
characteristics of the uncivilised North 
American Indians. 

17. In an interesting and very important 
little book, entitled Shut Your Mouth, written 
by Greorge Catlin, who travelled for many 
years among those Indians, he makes the 
following remarks : — " Civilised people, who 
from their education are more excitable, re- 
garding amusing or alarming scenes with 
the mouth open, as in wonder, astonishment, 
delight, listening, &c. ; and in laughing, 
drawing pleasure through their teeth, by 
which they insure pain for themselves in 
their sober moments, and for their teeth 
diseases of decay which no dentist can 
<mre. 

"The savage, without the change of a 
muscle on his face, listens to the rumbling 



48 The Philosophy of 

of the earthquake, or the thunder's crash, 
with his hand over his mouth ; and if by 
the extreme of any other excitement he is 
forced to laugh, his mouth is invariably 
hidden in the same manner. " 

18. Here we must observe that what is 
said to be an Indian's laugh is a mere 
ejaculation, or sudden emission of breath, 
and exhibits no similarity to the laugh of 
the European. The Indian smiles, but he 
never laughs, according to the meaning of 
that term as understood among civilised 
people. 

19. Again, if we visit the Southern 
Hemisphere, and direct our attention to the 
New Zealanders, we find the same remarks 
are equally applicable to those aborigines. 
They had not, when first discovered by early 
navigators, acquired the habit of spasmodi- 
cally agitating the diaphragm, and thereby 



Laughter and Smiling. 4& 

distorting the countenance with hideous 
wrinkles. 

20. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that 
both the North American Indians and the 
New Zealanders are well-organised human 
beings, and possess considerable intellectual 
powers. 

21. Among civilised nations, also, there 
are several who have not yet entered into 
the laughing stage of humanity. 

22. The Hindoos and Arabs are highly 
intellectual races, yet laughing is an accom- 
plishment which has never been cultivated 
among them. 

23. The Egyptians, the Turks, and the 
Spaniards are by no means prone to the 
exercise of risible muscles. 

24. Among the ancient Greeks and 
Romans laughing was not regarded either 
as dignified or graceful. 



50 The Philosophy of 

25. The wit of their poets and satirists 
was both acute and refined, exciting admira- 
tion and pleasure, but very rarely had the 
effect of throwing their respiratory apparatus 
into convulsions. 



Laughter and Smiling. 51 



CHAPTER VII. 

On the relation of laughter to wit. 

1. Gteoiige Combe (in his System, of 
Phrenology), in describing wit, observes : — 

u There may be much excellent wit with- 
out exciting us to laugh.. Indeed, Lord 
Chesterfield lays it down as a characteristic 
feature of an accomplished gentleman that 
he should never laugh. 

2. It is quite certain that there may be 
a high enjoyment of wit without laughter. 

3. The following are instances in point : — 

4. There is a story of a Nottingham 
publican, whose name was Littlejohn, who 
put up the figure of Eobin Hood for a sign 
with the following inscription :— - 



52 The Philosophy of 

" All ye that relish ale that's good 
Come in and drink with Eobin Hood ; 
If Eobin Hood is not at home, 
Come in and drink with Little John/' 

5. This is genuine wit, which even 
Chesterfield would allow to be so ; and yet 
it does not force us to laugh. 

6. Another instance is the following : — 

7. Louis the Fifteenth once heard that an 
Englishman (Lord Stair) at his court was 
remarkably like himself. 

8. Upon his going to court, the king, 
who was very guilty of saying rude things, 
observed, upon seeing him — " A remarkable 
likeness, upon my word. My Lord, was 
your mother ever in France ?" 

9. To which his lordship replied, with 
great politeness — " No, please your majesty, 
but my father was." 

10. This was admirably witty, but it does 
not excite laughter. 



Laughter and Smiling. 53 

11. Again: in the following instance 
tlie risible muscles are affected, although, in 
fact, the real point of wit contained in it is 
infinitely less. 

12. The story of the Nottingham publi- 
can, named Littlejohn, who set up the sign 
of Eobin Hood, goes on to say that Mr. Little- 
john having died, his successor thought it 
a pity to lose so capital a sign and so much 
good poetry, and accordingly retained them 
both, only, erasing his predecessor's name, 
he substituted his own instead. 

13. The lines then ran thus : — 

" All ye that relish ale that's good, 
Come in and drink with Eobin Hood ; 
If Eobin Hood is not at home, 
Come in and drink with Samuel Johnson." 

14. The whole wit is now gone, and yet 
it irresistibly excites laughter. 

15. In fact, the ideas have lost all co- 



54 The Philosophy of 

herence, and the wit has been transmuted 
into a limping, incongruous doggrel. It has 
become simply ridiculous — hence a subject 
for laughter. 



Laughter and Smiling. 55 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

On the logical relation of tlie action of laughter 
to the ideas, objects, or actions which excite 
laughter. 

1. If laughter were instinctive, and con- 
sequently natural, there would doubtless be 
a natural and obvious relation between the 
laughter and the object or action which 
gives rise to the laugh, on the well-under- 
stood relation which subsists between cause 
and effect. 

2. That is to say, the laugh should have 
an appropriate and rational relation to the 
object or action at which we laugh. 

3. We ought to be able to give a good and 



56 The Philosophy of 

proper reason why we laugh. Quid rides ? 
should receive a rational response. 

4. For instance, let us suppose a frolic- 
some young gentleman (a regular practical 
joker) showing off his dexterity by suddenly 
removing a chair from behind us, just as we 
are on the point of sitting down ; the 
inevitable result is that we come to the floor 
with no very pleasant sensations. 

5. The silly portion of the company 
(which is rarely less than three-fourths) 
will think it capital fun, and will exhibit 
their delight by a giggle or a grin. 

6. Now let us ask — most respectfully — is 
there really any consistent relation between 
this unfeeling and dangerous joke and the 
laugh which immediately follows ? 

7. Again : it is unfortunately but too 
well known that old age deprives many of 
us of the natural covering of the scalp, so 



Laughter and Smiling. 57 

that some of us deem it necessary and con- 
venient to mount a wig. 

8. Under these circumstances it some- 
times happens, on a windy day, that the hat 
and wig are unceremoniously dismounted, 
and begin to perform irregular and most 
eccentric gyrations on the pavement. 

9. The owner, of course, uses his best 
endeavours to regain his fleeting property, 
and he is immediately saluted with the ob- 
streperous merriment of the fools who are 
passing along. 

10. Again let us ask, what necessary 
connection can there be discovered between 
this annoying accident and the fool's 
laugh ? 

11. We cannot refraia from adding 
another illustration. 

12. There is a practice which is very 
prevalent among both the ignorant and 



58 The Philosophy of 

intelligent vulgar of retailing low and 
indecent anecdotes, and immodest witticisms, 
which are immediately followed by sten- 
torian laughter. 

13. We ask once more, is there any 
natural or rational relation between an 
obscene joke and a fit of laughter ? 

14. Ought it not rather to call forth a 
frown of indignation or the blush of shame? 

15. The fact is, there is no rational or 
natural relation (as of cause and effect) 
between the action of laughter and the 
action or words at which we laugh. 

16. The conclusion is unavoidable, that 
the absurd habit of laughing is entirely 
occasioned by the unnatural and false asso- 
ciations which have been forced upon us in 
early life. 



Laughter and Smiling. 59 



CHAPTEE IX. 

On the criterion by which to distinguish natural or 
instinctive actions and habits from those which 
are acquired. 

1. Hunger and thirst, eating and drink- 
ing, talking and walking, fatigue and repose, 
are all natural, and these actions and sensa- 
tions are common and universal ; they are 
essential to all healthy and properly orga- 
nised human beings in every nation in the 
world ; there are no deviations from this 
natural arrangement. 

2. That is to say, the actions of walking 
and talking, eating and drinking, are invari- 
ably performed by every healthy member of 
the human family, in every country, savage 



60 The Philosophy of 

or civilised ; and hunger and thirst, fatigue 
and repose, are invariably experienced by 
all. 

3. In the performance of such actions as 
are really natural and instinctive there are 
no exceptions, either national or individual. 

4. Whatever is inherent and natural is 
essential to the constitution of human beings, 
and therefore universal. 

5. But most decidedly this is not the 
case with respect to those convulsions which 
are denominated laughter. 

6. All the inhabitants of every country 
do not involuntarily and violently heave 
their chests and distort their countenances 
when they witness monkey tricks and buf- 
foonery, or when their ears are assailed by 
vulgar tales and lewd anecdotes. 



Laughter and Smiling. 61 



CHAPTER X. 

On the intellectual and moral status of the ordinary 
incentives to laughter* 

1. The remarks in the preceding chapter 
naturally lead us to a consideration of the 
moral phase of our theme, which un- 
doubtedly presents the most important view 
of this novel and interesting question. 

2. Let us briefly inquire, in the first 
place, what are the objects, the words, and 
the actions which excite laughter ? 

3. And secondly, what are the moral and 
intellectual characteristics of those who are 
addicted to laughing ? 

4. The answers to these two questions 



62 The Philosophy of 

will throw considerable light upon our 
investigation. 

5. Now, if we can make it obvious that 
the words and actions which provoke laugh- 
ter are neither elevating, nor refining, nor 
humanising, and that they are incapable of 
developing or strengthening any one human 
virtue, we thereby incontestably prove such 
words and actions are not worthy to be 
practised or cultivated — that they are, in 
fact, altogether unworthy of our attention. 

6. But if we can still further show that 
the words and actions which excite laughter 
are either immoral in their tendency or de- 
grading and vulgarising, we thereby incon- 
testably prove that such words and actions 
are not only unworthy of our attention, but 
that they ought to be studiously avoided, 
and that we ought to struggle against them, 
and, as far as possible, expunge them for 



Laughter and Smiling. 63 

ever from the catalogue of human words and 
actions. 

7. In the first place, then, what are the 
words and actions which excite laughter ? 

8. Are they not the absurd, the ridicu- 
lous, the mischievous, the wicked, the lewd, 
the profane ? 

9. Are they not words and actions which 
give pain to others ? 

10. Words and actions which injure the 
character of others ? 

11. Words and actions which cause shame 
and confusion of face to the innocent and 
virtuous ? 

12. Smart swindling is laughed at; the 
exploits of a clever pickpocket raise a laugh; 
adroit or expert overreaching and cheating 
in business are choice subjects for 
laughter. 

13. Vicious tricks, practical jokes, and 



64 The Philosophy of 

extravagant and outrageous follies excite 
laughter. 

14. The boisterous and violent demeanour 
of a drunkard invariably provokes laughter 
in the superficial and unthinking, and un- 
fortunately the superficial and unthinking 
constitute ninety-nine in every hundred. 

15. The least objectionable causes of 
laughter are by no means worthy of our 
imitation or applause — namely, such as are 
excited by frivolity and nonsense — -fun, as it 
is complaisantly called, silly conceits, incon- 
gruities, and inconsistencies, which are alto- 
gether beneath the self-regard of a sensible 
man to imitate or encourage. 

16. In the mildest terms that can be 
applied to them they are simply ridiculous 
and absurd, and certainly indicate a partial 
suspension of intellect or judgment, an 
emptiness of mind verging on imbecility. 



Laughter and Smiling. 65 



CHAPTER XL 

On the moral and intellectual characteristics of 
those who are addicted to laughing. 

1. Habitual laughers are invariably 
either ignorant, vulgar, or uncultivated. 

2. Silly, giddy, frivolous, superficial, 
shallow-brained people always laugh im- 
moderately at the merest trifles; and ex- 
tremely empty-headed simpletons acquire 
such an inveterate habit of laughing, that 
they involuntarily laugh at absolutely 
nothing. 

3. What is the most striking peculiarity 
of the mockers, the gibers, the taunters, the 
scoffers ? 



6Q The Philosophy of 

4. Are they not invariably the inveterate 
laughers ? 

5. Are they not, in general, the coarse, the 
vulgar, the brutal, the unfeeling ? 

6. What are the feelings of those who are 
laughed at ? Who likes to be laughed at ? 

7. Children (who, of course, are ignorant) 
laugh considerably — that is to say, in civilised 
countries. 

8. As they grow older, and gain know- 
ledge and good sense, their laughing pro- 
pensity gradually becomes weaker, and the 
habit of laughing gradually diminishes. 

9. If they become studious and intelli- 
gent (which all human beings ought to 
become) the spasm of laughter is rarely 
exhibited. 

10. The author of the following lines 
(which constitute the re/rain of a Bacchanalian 
lyric) very candidly sets forth the close and 



Laughter and Smiling. 67 

intimate relation which subsists between 
folly and laughter : — 

" Francs buveurs qui Bacclms attire 
Dans ses retraites qu'il cherit, 
Avec nous, venez boire et rire — 
Plus on est defoux — plus on rit." 

11. In general terms we may assert (and 
it will, doubtless, accord with, the experience 
of all those who observe and reflect) that 
ignorant, frivolous fools are almost con- 
tinually on the giggle or titter, whilst in- 
telligent and sensible people (whose thoughts 
are, of course, occupied with good and useful 
ideas) seldom descend to laughter. 

12. Indeed, if a man's mind be occupied 
by good and useful ideas, how can it be 
possible for him to laugh ? 



68 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTER XII. 

Are laughter and joking, badinage and fun, con- 
sistent with dignity of character ? or are they 
conducive to the maintenance of a beneficial 
political or social influence ? 

1 . The following observations, which, ap- 
peared in the Daily Telegraph of September, 
1868 (although written en badinage), are 
true to the letter, and exhibit an excellent 
illustration of the correctness of the theory 
which we have had the hardihood to espouse 
and defend in the preceding pages : — 

2. "It is," says the writer " rather a loss 
to Mr. Osborne (who is fighting hard for his 
seat at Nottingham) that he* is not a dull 



Laughter and Smiling. 69 

man. If he makes a really clever sug- 
gestive speech., it is sure to be besprinkled 
with jokes — so broken up by 'laughter' in 
parenthesis, that the graver parts are apt to 
be passed over by the many readers who 
detest to be instructed, and who like to be 
amused. 

3. "An Osborne without his jokes would 
be a fair statesman of the second rank, and 
far superior to the average intellect of the 
twelve or thirteen that go to form the rank 
and file of a Conservative Cabinet. His 
intellect is as clear, his ability of exposition 
as great, his acuteness in detecting fallacies 
as keen, as that of any speaker in either 
House. 

4. " But Englishmen are much attached 
to grave men. 

5. " The late Sir Eobert Peel had, we be- 
lieve, a deep sense of humour in private 



70 The Philosophy of 

society, but in public life he was pre-eminently 
a grave man ; and be owed a great deal of 
the reverence felt for him, even by his 
opponents, to the solemnity of his manner 
and the steady seriousness of his tone. 

6. " The Earl of Chatham was grave, and 
he retained his influence even when his 
mistakes were as grave as himself 

7. " Pitt was solemn. 

8. " Lord Grey was always dignified, de- 
corous, and incapable of a joke ; and in such 
men a popular confidence is placed which is 
seldom or never given to men of wit and 
humour about town. 

9. " Fox lost caste, because, though his 
policies were wise, and would have saved us 
millions of our debt, he was light-hearted 
and gay. 

10. "In his own day Canning was success- 
fully attacked because he was a joker of 



I 



Laughter and Smiling; 71 

jokes, and spiteful antagonists denied his 
statesmanship because he had penned witty 
lampoons. 

11. " Lord Melbourne, who really had the 
instincts of a true statesman, was always 
underrated; and Palmerston had to live 
down, for forty years, the effects of his bon- 
Jiommie and his readiness to jest. 

12. "In fact, our national character is 
mainly grave; Englishmen may laugh at 
jokes, but they distrust the joker. 

13. " Sidney Smith was one of the ablest 
preachers whom the English Church had 
produced for generations ; a conscientious 
pastor and a thorough Churchman, he stood 
in the foreground, fighting the battles of 
liberality and religious truth when there 
was no chance of any earthly reward ; yet 
the Liberals passed him over, and appointed 
to bishoprics utterly inferior men, simply 



72 The Philosophy of 

because he was humorous and witty, and 
they were irredeemably grave. 

14. " We should therefore be inclined to 
advise Mr. Osborne to mend his ways. 
Let him abjure jokes. Let him never pro- 
voke 'laughter.' Let him be bigoted, 
solemn, and dull, and he will be made a 
Tory minister ; or let him be statistical and 
serious, and he may one day get an Under- 
Secretary ship from a Liberal Ministry." 

15. We consider it no exaggeration to 
declare this article to be as clever and as 
truthful a sketch as ever appeared in the 
columns of the Daily Telegraph. 



Laughter and Smiling. 73 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The verdict of Shakspeare on the moral character 
of laughter. 

1. Although our Immortal Bard has not 
founded any of his dramatic works or poems 
expressly on the theme of laughter, he has, 
nevertheless, expressed himself in very 
explicit and energetic terms in favour of the 
opinions and views which it has been the 
object of these pages to expound. 

2. In the dialogue between Biron and 
Bosaline (in Loves Labour Lost) he has thus 
unfolded his ideas on the subject : — 

Biron to Rosaline. Impose some service on me 
for thy love. 



/./ 



74 The Philosophy of 

Eos aline. Oft have I heard of you, my Lord 
Biron, 
Before I saw you, and the world's large tongue 
Proclaims you for a man replete with mocks, 
Full of comparisons and wounding flouts, 
Which you on all estates will execute 
That lie within the mercy of your wit. 
To weed this wormwood from your fruitful brain, 
And therewithal to win me, if you please 
(Without the which I am not to be won), 
Tou shall, this twelvemonth term, from day to day, 
Visit the speechless sick, and still converse 
With groaning wretches ; and your task shall be, 
With all the fierce endeavour of your wit, 
To enforce the pained impotents to smile. 

Biron. To move wild laughter in the throat of 
death ? 
It cannot be — it is impossible. 

Rosaline. Why that's the way to choke a gibing 
spirit, 
Whose influence is begot of that loose grace 
Which shallow laughing hearers give to fools. 
A jest's prosperity lies in the ear 
Of him that hears it— never in the tongue 
Of him that makes it. Then, if sickly ears, 



Laughter and Smiling. 75 

Deafd with the clamour of their own dear groans, 

Will hear your idle scorns — continue then, 

And I will have you, and that fault withal. 

But if they will not — throw away that gibing spirit, 

And I shall find you empty of that fault, 

Eight joyful of your reformation. 

3. We most earnestly request the reader 
to direct his particular and deliberate atten- 
tion to this passage from Shakspeare. 

4. A clearer or more convincing demon- 
stration of the correctness of our theory 
could not possibly be set forth than the 
poet has presented in this exquisite episode. 

5. There are many actions and incidents, 
ideas and recitals, which are relished and 
laughed at by the giddy, the ignorant, and 
the unreflecting, but which, on the contrary, 
excite the indignation and disgust of the 
intelligent and humane. 

6. The wise, the prudent, and the 
thoughtful rarely laugh. If 



76 The Philosophy of 

7. The more we improve ourselves, the 
more we cultivate and refine our manners 
and conversation, the more efforts we make 
to be useful, and the more we strive to do 
good, just in the same degree we cease to be 
agitated by the convulsions and distortions 
of laughter. 

8. The natural and certain result of such 
a course of intellectual and moral progress 
would be, that we should live a higher life, 
consequently experience a more perfect state 
of happiness ; and this is, or ought to be, 

" Our being's end and aim." 



Laughter and Smiling. 77 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

A brief comparison between gravity and levity — 
The grave and the gay — Have we any rule to 
direct us in the exercise of laughter ? 

1. When we compare the moral attributes 
of gravity with those of levity, or serious- 
ness with frivolity, we can hardly avoid the 
conclusion that they bear nearly the same 
relation to each other as virtue bears to vice, 
or wisdom to folly. 

2. Gravity and seriousness always exert a 
beneficial influence, whereas frivolity and 
levity, on the contrary, produce a demoralis- 
ing and vulgarising effect. 

3. Gravity and decorum are the striking 
characteristics of the wise and prudent — 



78 The Philosophy of 

frivolity and laughter are tlie predominating 
features of ignorance and folly. 

4. Moreover, there is no consistent prin- 
ciple or fixed standard by which a person 
may be guided in the use of laughter. 

5. Superficial fools and ignorant boors will 
laugh vociferously at that which would only 
excite contempt in the mind of an educated 
man. 

6. Conversely, there are many sayings and 
doings which an intelligent man would 
appreciate as genuine wit, but at which the 
shallow-brained ignoramus would listen and 
gape with a vacant stare. 

7. The prevalence of folly and vice will 
produce very different effects on the opposite 
temperaments of the grave and the gay. 

8. Heraclitus wept at the follies, frivoli- 
ties, and vicissitudes of human existence 
Democritus laughed at them. 



Laughter and Smiling. 79 



CHAPTEE XV. 

On the degrading and vicious consequences of the 
habit of laughing. 

1. In the present chapter we shall 
endeavour to point out that the obstreperous 
and meaningless habit of laughing is, if not 
the entire cause, at least one of the principal 
causes, of the existence and continuance of 
the follies, frivolities, mischiefs, and lewd 
conversations which are now so rampant in 
every class of society, and which sink it so 
low in the moral scale. 

2. The actors of all practical jokes, the 
authors of every species of mischief, the 
retailers of low, vulgar, and obscene 



80 The Philosophy of 

anecdotes, together with utterers of scandal, 
are all instigated by the very contemptible 
ambition of raising a laugh, a giggle, or a 
smirk at some one's expense. 

3. These miserable mongers of fonl talk, 
and these vulgar performers of practical 
jokes, exhibit their absurd antics, and retail 
their obscene anecdotes, for the express 
purpose of exciting laughter, which they 
expect and look for as a gratification and 
reward for their ingenuity, dexterity, or wit. 

4. This being the case, we may safely 
conclude that if follies, vulgarities, and 
absurdities were never laughed at, but were 
listened to in silence, and treated with the 
contempt which they really deserve, they 
would soon cease to be practised. 

5. Who would transform themselves into 
monkeys, or magpies, or buffoons (as thou- 
sands are in the habit of doing), if their un- 



Laughter and Smiling. 81 

meaning absurdities were visited with silence 
and contempt ? 

6. Who would continue to indulge in 
gibes and mocks and ribaldry, or shameless 
conversation, if they were received with a 
frown or a rebuke ? 

7. All these abominations and annoyances 
are continued, and actually expand and 
increase, precisely because they are inces- 
santly laughed-at. 

8. Not only are absurdities, and follies, 
and mischiefs supported and perpetuated 
by being rewarded with a vulgar laugh, but 
very many vices and actual crimes are re- 
garded by the volatile and unreflecting as 
capital jokes, and are greeted with a hearty 
burst of laughter. 

9. Thomas Carlyle says that England 
contains twenty millions of people, mostly 



82 The Philosophy of 

fools. We cannot help fully endorsing 
Carlyle's estimate. 

10. That there are so many fools is 
mainly to be attributed to the false and 
absurd associations which are engrafted upon 
the minds of human beings during the 
pliant period of infancy and childhood, and 
more especially to those most ridiculous 
associations which are connected with the 
mindless habit of laughing. 



Laughter and Smiling. 83 



CHAPTEB XVI. 

On the injurious effects of nursery rhymes and 
juvenile literature in stultifying the minds of 
children and youths by furnishing them with 
extravagant lies and egregious nonsense to 
excite their wonder and induce them to laugh. 

1. With very few exceptions the books 
composed expressly for children liave always 
been, and still continue to be, of the most 
trashy description, and have had a powerful 
and marked effect in degrading the morals 
and stultifying the intellect. 

2. They are generally made up of the 
veriest nonsense and the most monstrous 
absurdities. 

3. These burlesque productions are chiefly 



84 The Philosophy of 

designed to amuse by arousing the wonder 
of their vacant-minded readers, by the rela- 
tion of the most ridiculous and outrageous 
lies, and to excite their laughter by the 
recital of the most grotesque actions, and 
the grossest follies and ribaldry. 

4. In order to verify the correctness of 
this somewhat severe criticism nothing more 
will be necessary than to enumerate a few of 
the titles of these gems of fiction, these pure 
efforts of the imagination — to wit : — Jack the 
Giant-Killer, Jack hnd the Bean-Stalk, Hop 
d my TJiumb, Seven League Boots, Old Mother 
Hubbard, Puss in Boots, Goody Two Shoes, 
Little Bed Biding Hood. 

5. We might easily append (if it were 
requisite) the names of a host of more modern 
productions of an equally interesting and 
edifying description, adorned with elaborate 
works of art, exhibiting the skill and ingenuity 



Laughter and Smiling. 85 

of the artist in supplementing the heathen 
mythology by the addition of such hideous 
monsters as had never been dreamt of in 
the wildest dreams of the poets and sculptors 
of remote antiquity. 

6. Can we wonder at the immense number 
of silly, frivolous, giddy, giggling, full-grown 
fools, who, in the present reign of Queen 
Victoria, infest all ranks of society, when 
we reflect that their nascent minds were 
perverted, and distorted, and shrivelled in 
their infancy and childhood by such sur- 
passing nonsense and trashy garbage as 
the nursery rhymes and juvenile litera- 
ture we have just described, and which 
are not only permitted, but universally en- 
couraged ? 

7. These extremely stupid and vulgar 
books have been, and still continue to be, the 
bane and curse of the intellect of the rising 



86 The Philosophy of 

generation, and, in a vast majority of cases, 
the utter ruin of their morals. 

8. Nor can we hope to have any improve- 
ment in the conduct and conversation of 
human beings until our present nursery 
literature shall be completely swept away, 
and replaced by books of a pure and rational 
character. 



Laughter and Smiling. 87 



CHAPTER XVII. 

A venial digression touching the false and imperfect 
methods now in vogue of teaching and training 
the young. 

1. It cannot be denied that our pre- 
sent methods of training young children are 
lamentably deficient ; many of them, indeed, 
are altogether contrary to reason* 

2. For instance, it is perfectly well known 
that whatever we teach children which is of 
a sensible or useful character we impose it 
upon them as a task ; but in their leisure 
hours they are not only allowed, but en- 
couraged, to relax their moral principles and 
effeminate their intellects by reading the 



88 The Philosophy of 

most incredible romances and story-books ; 
to amuse themselves with irrational and 
antagonistic games, and to fill up the inter- 
vals with rude idle talk. 

3. Moreover, the generality of parents and 
nurses are continually laughing at, and con- 
sequently encouraging, the silly and un- 
meaning babble and tattle and chatter of 
their children. 

4. Thus the inexperienced children very 
naturally begin to associate the action of 
laughter with trashy nonsense and foolish 
talk, till it becomes, in a great majority of 
cases, the ruling passion and a permanent 
habit ; and thus they entirely exclude from 
the mind the important consideration that 
folly and laughter do not, under any circum- 
stances, constitute a part of the duties of 
human life. 

5. Parents almost universally ignore the 



Laughter and Smiling. 89 

serious responsibility which, their thoughtless 
neglect involves. They entirely forget — 
although the injunction has been repeatedly 
laid upon them — " That for every idle word 
that men shall speak they shall give an 
account on the day of judgment. For by 
thy words thou shalt be justified, and by 
thy words thou shalt be condemned/' 

6. As actions are of still more importance 
than words, this sweeping and emphatic 
denunciation evidently implies the guilt of 
those who commit idle or ridiculous actions, 
as well as those who utter idle words, for the 
minor in this case obviously includes the 
major. 

7. Everything that we teach children, 
every book that we put into their hands to 
read, should have some decided relation to 
rational ideas or virtuous principles, to some 
rale of conduct, or to some useful action. 



90 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

Milton versus Shakspeare on the subject of 
laughter. 

1. We have already condemned, in no 
very measured terms, the current literature 
provided for the young by inferior and un- 
known authors and artists ; but the manii* 
facturers of nursery rhymes and children's 
story-books are not alone responsible for the 
moral debasement produced by grossly ex- 
citing and contaminating literature. 

2. Men of the highest stamp have de- 
graded themselves and prostituted their 
great talents to the propagation of loose 
principles and the encouragement of licen- 
tious actions. 



Laughter and Smiling. 91 

3. As a specimen of this unpardonable 
misapplication of the most splendid endow- 
ments take the following extract from 
I? Allegro. 

4. It is scarcely necessary to inform the 
reader that this poem is from the pen of the 
sublime, the divine, the immortal Milton. 

5. The poet is evidently in a revelling 
mood, and he invites one of the Graces, to- 
gether with others of a kindred character, 
that his orgies may reach a climax. 

" Come, thou goddess, fair and free, 
In heaven yclept Euphrosyne, 
And, by men, heart-easing Mirth, 
Whom lovely Venus at a birth, 
With two sister Graces more, 
To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore ; 
Or whether (as some sages say) 
The frolic wind that breathes the spring, 
Zephyr with Aurora playing 
There on beds of violet blue 
And fresh-blown roses washed in dew, 



92 The Philosophy of 

Filled lier with thee a daughter fair, 

So buxom, blithe, and debonnair. 

Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee, 

Jest and youthful jollity, 

Quips and cranks and wanton wiles, 

Nods and becks and wreathed smiles, 

Such as hang on Phoebe's cheek, 

And love to live in dimple sleek. 

Sport that wrinkled Care derides, 

And Laughter holding both his sides — 

Come and trip it as you go, 

On the light fantastic toe, 

And in thy right hand lead with thee 

The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty. 

And if I give thee honour due, 

Mirth, admit me of thy crew, 

To live with her, and live with thee 

In unreproved pleasures free." 

6. Can we imagine a more attractive or 
more seducing invocation to the indulgence 
of the grossest, the most vitiating, the most 
brutifying of all the sensual appetites ? 

7. Verily, the moral world owes John 



Laughter and Smiling. 93 

Milton (of Paradise Lost celebrity) a certain 
amount of pity — not unmingled with, con- 
tempt — for setting forth, in such euphonious 
strains, such alluring incentives to de- 
bauchery. 



94 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

A comparison between those sayings and doings 
which are laughed at and those which are not 
laughed at. 

1. A brief summary of the words and 
actions which we are in the habit of laugh- 
ing at, compared with those which do not 
excite laughter, will exhibit the argument 
in a still more convincing form. 

2. We laugh at folly, frequently at vice — 
we never laugh at wisdom, or justice, or any 
other cardinal virtues. 

3. "We laugh at practical jokes and mis- 
chievous pranks — we never laugh at grati- 
tude, or acts of benevolence, or any species 
of kindness. 



Laughter and Smiling. 95 

4. We laugh, at many species of crime, 
lewd conversation, and vulgar anecdotes — 
we never laugh at gentlemanly or honour- 
able conduct, or any species of virtuous or 
edifying conversation. 

5. We frequently laugh at wit, satire, 
sarcasm. But these are all used to point 
out or stigmatise something injurious, de- 
grading, dishonourable, or contemptible ; 
something ridiculous, or some incongruity; 
or to scandalise some one, or to bring some 
one into contempt, or to castigate some folly 
or injustice. 

6. The vices and failings we have just 
enumerated are doubtless legitimate objects of 
laughter and ridicule whenever or wherever 
they exhibit themselves, if by laughter and 
ridicule they can be gradually put down and 
finally abolished. 

7. For it must be universally acknow- 



96 The Philosophy of 

ledged that all these evil, injurious, and de- 
grading qualities are vices which should have 
been eradicated in early youth, or rather 
which should not have been allowed to take 
root — and then the wit, satire, and sarcasm 
would not have been required to rebuke 
them; consequently, the stimulus which 
they present to excite our risible muscles 
into action would no longer exist. 

8. "We laugh at ignorance, but never at 
intelligence or useful knowledge. 

9. We laugh at the caricatures and bur- 
lesques — the vulgar witticisms and out- 
rageous nonsense of Beaumont, Fletcher, 
Fielding, Prior, Butler, and other similar 
humorists — but we never laugh at the 
sublime and virtue-inspiring precepts of 
Pythagoras, Epictetus, Plutarch, or Seneca. 



Laughter and Smiling. 97 



CHAPTEE XX. 

The character of Laughers compared with the cha- 
racter of those who are thoughtful and serious 

1. Let us repeat the fact (which, should 
be continually borne in mind by all those 
who maintain that laughter is consistent 
with propriety and decorum) — namely, that 
habitual laughers are silly, giddy, frivolous, 
superficial persons — that is to say, they are,, 
in one expressive word — fools, 

2. A second fact requires equally to be 
remembered — namely, that sensible and in- 
telligent persons, whose lives are occupied in 
the important duties of improving their 
minds, in being useful, and in doing good. 



98 The Philosophy of 

and whose leisure hours are spent in rational, 
cheerful, and humanising enjoyments — such 
persons (male or female) are rarely tempted 
to laugh ; and many very excellent men and 
women never laugh under any possible cir- 
cumstances. 

3. The gentle, the most amiable, the most 
intelligent, the most virtuous are rarely 
prone to laughter. 

4. On the other hand, the worst of cha- 
racters, the depraved, the dissipated, the 
criminal are generally much addicted to 
uproarious mirth and laughter. 

5. Moreover (to summarise what we 
have already stated in detail), all the in- 
numerable words and actions which induce 
or compel people to laugh are invariably 
tainted with some degree of folly, vice, or 
crime — absurdity, stupidity, or nonsense — 
levity, frivolity, or trifling — all of which, it 



Laughter and Smiling. 99 

must be at once acknowledged, are decidedly 
objectionable, and should, therefore, as soon 
as possible, be utterly swept away. 

6. An evident and most important corol- 
lary may be deduced from the latter proposi- 
tion — namely, that the more these vices can 
be avoided and got rid of, the better it will 
be for the happiness of mankind. 

7. Eationality, good sense, wisdom, virtue, 
righteousness are never laughed at; but 
these are precisely the qualities which should 
universally abound. 

8. We may very safely conclude that the 
universal predominance of these qualities 
would be the total annihilation of laughter. 



100 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Classification of Laughs and Smiles. 

The following list enumerates a few of 
tlie various kinds of laughs and smiles, 
classified in genera, species, and varieties: — 

The first genus is the " Laugh/' exhibiting 
five species, namely — 

1. The gigghng laugh, excited by romp- 
ing fun and nonsense. 

2. The hearty laugh, instigated by practi- 
cal jokes or extremely absurd antics. 

3. The fall-faced laugh of the weaker 
sex. 

4. The boisterous laugh of the stronger 
sex. 



Laughter and Smiling. 101 

5. The Ne plus ultra laugh, which may 
be variously denominated as the obstrepe- 
rous laugh — the vociferous laugh — the sten- 
torian laugh — or the horse laugh. 



The second genus is the " Smile," under 
which we have arranged four species, each 
containing a certain number of varieties. 

First species — Simulated smiles, containing 
six varieties — namely, 

1 . The condescending or patronising smile . 

2. The insidious smile. 

3. The sardonic sneer or furtive leer. 

4. The beseeching or persuading smile. 

5. The ironical or don t-you-wish-you- 
may-get-it? smile. 

6. The cajoling smirk or wheedling grin. 
Second species — Vulgar or unintellectual 

smiles, containing three varieties — namely, 
1. The credulous simper or gullible smile. 



102 The Philosophy of 

2. The chuckle or exulting smile. 

3. The vague persistent smile, or vacant 
simper. 

Tliird species — Eefined, intellectual, and 
amiable smiles, containing ten varieties — 
namely, 

1. The entreating smile of infancy. 

2. The confiding smile of childhood. 

3. The maternal sympathetic smile. 

4. The infant's smile of delight. 

5. The grandmother's affectionate smile. 

6. The grandchild's grateful smile. 

7. The joyous smile of friendly recog- 
nition. 

8. The supremely affectionate smile. 

9. The pensive smile. 

10. The self-conceited smile, or smile of 
self-esteem. 

Fourth species — The creature-comfort 
smiles, containing two varieties — namely, 



Laughter and Smiling. 103 

1. Sawney's snuff- tickling smile. 

2. Jack Tar's joyful smile over "the cup 
that cheers but not inebriates." 

The species of laughter are as limited in 
their range as those of the smile are ex- 
tensive- 
Each individual, when under the influence 
of laughter, puts forth his or her peculiar 
giggle, grin, snort, or titter, which generally 
preserves its identical intonation and ring 
as long in life as the laughing habit con- 
tinues, or till old age subdues it. 

It would appear that the only variation 
of which a laugh is susceptible consists in 
its greater or less degree of intensity. 



104 The Philosophy of 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

On the broad line of demarcation which separates 
laughter from smiling. 

1. In discoursing of "Laughter" and 
" Smiling," we must carefully guard against 
tlie popular fallacy of confounding these 
very distinct modifications of the counte- 
nance. 

2. These two functions of the fibrous 
tissue exhibit very dissimilar species of 
action. 

3. A laugh is generally regarded as a 
smile continued and intensified and carried 
out to a climax. 

4. When, however, they are carefully 



Laughter and Smiling. 105 

analysed they will be found to be quite 
distinct — distinct in essence, distinct in 
origin, distinct in action, distinct in effect; 
producing and manifesting very dissimilar 
states of feeling. 

5. "Walker (in his Dictionary) defines the 
verb to laugh at — to treat with contempt, 
to ridicule, to deride, to scorn. 

6. The same authority defines the verb to 
smile — to be favourable, to be propitious, to 
look with pleasure or kindness. 

7. We will endeavour to amplify upon 
these definitions, and to give an analysis 
which will more distinctly exhibit the con- 
trast. 

8. A laugh distorts every feature, and 
renders even a handsome face unpleasing and 
ridiculous, so that a refined and intelligent 
spectator is apt to turn away from it. 

9. A smile lights up the countenance 



106 The Philosophy of 

with all the radiance of beauty, invests it 
with an irresistible attraction, and imparts 
a pleasure which no language can adequately 
describe. 

10. A laugh is invariably accompanied 
by a convulsive action of the diaphragm. 

11. Sir Charles Bell, treating of the phe- 
nomenon of Laughter in his celebrated 
treatise on the " Anatomy of Expression/* 
presents us with the following vivid descrip- 
tion: — 

12. " Observe the condition of a man con- 
vulsed with laughter. He draws a full 
breath, and throws it out in short, inter- 
rupted, and audible cachinnations. The 
muscles of his throat, neck, and chest are 
agitated; the diaphragm is especially con- 
vulsed. He holds his sides, and from the 
violent agitation he is incapable of a volun- 
tary act." 



Laughter and Smiling. 107 

13. Although the irresistible convulsion 
of the diaphragm is the principal of the 
physical manifestations of laughter, yet there 
are several accessories, especially the sharp 
vocal utterances arising from the violent dis- 
tension of the larynx, and the wrinkled and 
distorted expression of every feature. 

14. A smile is entirely free from all these 
violent and painful emotions — no convulsions 
— no distortions — no violent distension of 
the vocal organs. 

15. In laughter the strain upon the 
muscles concerned in the operation deprives 
the laugher of the power of exercising any 
of his other faculties. He can neither think, 
speak, nor act. As Sir Charles Bell ex- 
presses it, " he is incapable of a voluntary 
act." 

16. How exactly the reverse are the 
manifestations of a smile, during which all 



108 The Philosophy of 

the faculties have full scope — the thoughts 
are the purest, the words are the gentlest, 
the actions are the kindest ! 

17. A laugh is always accompanied by a 
disagreeable noise, which cannot be more 
correctly designated than as idiotic. It 
invariably produces a silly, vulgar, unmean- 
ing sound — whether it be a giggle or a grin 
— a compressed he ! he ! — an expanded ha ! 
ha ! or a downright broad horse laugh. 

18. A smile never gives rise to the 
least noise or sound of any kind ; it manifests 
the kindliest sympathies in sweet and 
gentle silence. 

[The reader must bear in mind that we 
are here speaking of the smile of sincerity, 
candour, and benevolence — the most essential 
characteristics of humanity, properly so 
called. 

The vicious, the cunning, the overreach- 



Laughter and Smiling. 10& 1 

ing, with flexible features and apt imitative 
faculties, can easily simulate a smile of any- 
kind or degree. 

Hamlet, after the interview with the 
ghost of his father, takes out his tablets to 
write a record, saying — 

" Villain, villain, smiling damned villain — 

Meet it is I sat it down 

That one may smile and smile and be a villain."} 

19. The various species of laughter are 
all ridiculous, absurd, or impudent — vulgar 
or idiotic — presenting ugliness to the sight* 
and harsh and grating sounds to the ear. 

20. The various species of the genuine 
or amiable smile are all beautiful, whether 
of benevolence or kindness — sympathy or 
gratitude — admiration, veneration, or affec- 
tion — they are all sweetness and beauty. 

21. We suspect a laugh, we confide in a 
smile ; contempt and ridicule lurk under a 



110 Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling. 

laugh, love and friendship beam in a 
smile. 

22. Another very marked distinction be- 
tween smiling and laughing is this : — Smiling 
may be caused — and, in fact, is generally 
caused — by witnessing the exhibition of any 
of the virtues ; but we cannot imagine, 
for a moment, the possibility of any sane 
person laughing at the performance of an 
honourable or virtuous action. 



A Series of Engravings 



EXHIBITING A FEW SPECIMENS OF THE DIS- 
TORTIONS WHICH LAUGHTER PRODUCES ON 
THE " HUMAN PACE DIVINE." 




The Giggling Laugh, excited by Boisterous Fun and 
Nonsense. 







The Obstreperous Laugh, instigated by Practical Jokes 
or Extreme Absurdities. 




The Hearty Laugh of the Gentler Sex. 




The Stentorian Laugli of the Stronger Sex. 




The Superlative Laugh, or Highest Degree of Laughter. 



Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling. 113 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Further illustrations of the distinction between a 
laugh and a smile. 

1. The thoughtful and curious reader 
may naturally ask — "Are there any definite 
and precise criteria by which we can at once 
truly distinguish a smile from a laugh ?" 

2. We answer — " Most assuredly there 
are/' and we shall now endeavour to point 
them out. 

3. Whatever may be the exciting cause 
of laughter, the paroxysm comes on sud- 
denly, shaking the whole bodily frame, par- 
ticularly the lungs, the diaphragm, and pec- 
toral muscles. 



114 The Philosophy of 

4. It interrupts the breathing for a longer 
or shorter period, according to the degree of 
its intensity, and then ceases as suddenly as 
it commenced. 

5. The function of laughter can only be 
properly compared to such functions as 
coughing, hiccoughing, or sneezing, which 
are all involuntary convulsions, caused by 
disorder of the functions of the organs 
which are implicated. 

6. Smiling may be compared to any other 
of the voluntary functions in which all the 
organs employed act in immediate conso- 
nance with the volition- — such as reading, 
reciting, singing, playing on an instrument, 
or any similar occupation — in which actions 
all the operations are perfectly spontaneous, 
and can be indulged in on any occasion in 
which it may be desirable. You can modify 
these actions as you please — you can con- 



Laughter and Smiling. 115 

tinue them or bring them to a just termina- 
tion, as you please. 

7. But, on the other hand, with respect to 
laughter : — You cannot by any means im- 
provise a genuine laugh. You may imitate 
it if you please ; but the counterfeit is a 
mere sham, a shell, a husk. Its operation 
is confined entirely to the vocal organs, and 
does not in the least interfere with the 
natural movements of the pectoral muscles, 
the diaphragm, or the lungs ; nor does it 
shake the bodily frame as do the convulsions 
of real laughter. 

8. Laughter is invariably accompanied by 
noises of various degrees of depth and acute- 
ness ; but in every case the noises are not 
only disagreeable and ridiculous, but when 
imitated the sounds are hideous and idiotic. 

9. Smiling, on the contrary, is not accom- 
panied by any audible sound whatever. 



116 The Philosophy of 

10. A smile comes on gently, does not 
agitate the breathing apparatus in the least 
degree, and subsides as gently as it com- 
menced. 

11. Smiling causes no headache or aching 
of the sides, nor does it give rise to any 
pain or disturbing sensations in any of the 
bodily organs. 

12. The state of the organism in a fit of 
laughter is a state of painful excitement and 
agitation, and is, moreover, morally annoying 
to any one possessing the least dignity of 
character or thoughtful reflection. 

13. The continuance of a fit of laughter, 
even for a few minutes, would, from the in- 
tensity of its convulsions, assuredly prove 
fatal. 

14. The physical state of the organism 
during the manifestation of a smile is per- 
fect tranquillity and repose. The moral 



Laughter and Smiling. 117 

state of consciousness is pleasurable beyond 
expression. 

1 5. A smile may be continued ad libitum 
for any possible length of time, without 
causing any other than pleasurable sensa- 
tions. 

16. A smile, as we have already observed, 
is quite spontaneous, whilst a true laugh is 
invariably compulsory, and it is often excited 
in direct opposition to our wishes. 



The following illustrations present a few 
examples of the infinite variety of the smile 
by which the different emotions or passions 
of the human soul are made manifest on 
the countenance. 



-SIMULATED SMILES. 




The Condescending or the Patronising Smile. 




The Insidious Smile. 



J_ 




The Sardonic Sneer, or Furtive Le 




The Beseeching or Persuading Smile. 




The Cajoling Smirk, or Wheedling Grin. 



VULGAR OR UNINTELLECTUAL SMILES. 







The Chuckle, or Exulting Smile. 




The Vague Persistent Smile, or Vacant Simper. 



REFINED, INTELLECTUAL, AND AMIABLE 
SMILES. 




The Entreating Smile. 




The Confiding Smile. 




The Mother's Sympathetic Smile, and the Infant's 
Smile of Delight. 




The Grandmother's Affectionate Smile, and the Grandchild's 
Grateful Smile. 




The Pensive Smile. 




The Self-conceited Smile, or the Smile of Self-Esteam. 



CREATURE - COMFORT SMILES. 




The Joyful Smile over the Cup that Cheers but 
not Inebriates. 



Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling. 1 29 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Is it a fact (as is generally affirmed) that those who 
are habituated to laugh are good-tempered, 
generous, and philanthropic? And, on the 
contrary, that those who seldom or never laugh 
are gloomy, repulsive, and misanthropic cha- 
racters who ought to be suspected and shunned ? 

1. Notions and opinions that pass current 
in society generally gain our belief and con- 
fidence without our giving them the least 
examination. 

2. For example : — It has been frequently 
asserted, with the greatest assurance, that a 
man who never laughs is morose, unfeeling, 
malignant, a suspicious character not to be 
trusted. 



130 Tlie Philosophy of 

3. Like many of our traditional notions, 
this is purely a popular fallacy. 

4. "We have only to exercise our powers 
of observation to become aware of the 
existence of many instances of individuals 
who very rarely laugh, and who are, never- 
theless, not only highly intellectual, but 
highly amiable and benevolent. 

5. On the other hand, the instances are 
very numerous of individuals who are very 
great proficients in the exercise of laughing 
and giggling, who are nevertheless very 
slightly endowed with either intellect, 
amiability, or benevolence. 

6. When we call to mind the character 
and writings of the great and wise men of 
antiquity, we can hardly conceive them to 
be jesters, harlequins, or merry-andrews. 

7. Imagine, for a moment, of Confucius 
or Pythagoras reciting jokes to their pupils 



Laughter and Smiling. 131 

to excite a laugh, as many of our orators do 
at the present day. 

8. Can we conceive of Plato wrinkling 
his features, and distending his jugular 
veins, in order to amuse his listeners ? 

9. Did Plutarch set the table in a roar ? 
Did Cicero's orations induce his audiences 
to shake their sides ? 

10. When we read Isaiah and the 
Prophets do we distort our features ? Was 
St. Paul a " man of wit and humour about 
town ?" 

11. Whatever the ancient sages may have 
done in their ignorant and childish days, 
we cannot resist the conclusion that when 
they came to years of maturity they were 
men who never laughed. 

12. We read in one verse in the New 
Testament that " Jesus wept," but there is 
no record that He ever laughed ; nor can we 



132 The Philosophy of 

conceive the probability or consistency of 
such an event. 

13. Thus we perceive that laughter does 
not make a good man, and that there are 
thousands of good men who never laugh. 



Laughter and Smiling. 133 



CONCLUDING. 

1. Hearken to the voice of the wise 
man. (Eccles. vii. 2 — 6.) " It is better to 
go to the house of mourning than to the 
house of feasting. Sorrow is better than 
laughter. 

2. " The heart of the wise is in the house 
of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the 
house of mirth. 

3. u It is better to hear the voice of the 
wise than for a man to hear the song of 
fools. 

4. " For as the crackling of thorns under 
& pot, so is the laughter of fools." 

5. Whatever is good and true, kind and 



134 Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling. 

"benevolent, whatever is beautiful and good, 
excellent and useful, whatever is grand and 
noble, magnificent or magnanimous, never 
gives rise to the " Madness of Laughter." 

6. But these are precisely the qualities 
which produce human happiness, and there- 
fore they are the qualities which should 
universally abound. 

7. In proportion as these qualities in- 
crease and multiply, so will laughter 
dwindle and diminish. When these qualities 
become universal, laughter will expire. 



FOTJE MODIFICATIONS OF THE SAME 

COUNTENANCE, 

NAMELY, 

1st. The natural and usual state of silent 
thought or calm reflection. 

2nd. A gentle smile under the influence of 
kindly sensations. 

3rd. Exhibiting the expression of moderate 
laughter. 

4th. Displaying the influence of hearty 
laughter. 

The four illustrations which follow are 
engraved from photographs of a lady whom 
nature and education have so favoured as to 
place her above the average of her sex both 
in intellect and accomplishments. 



First Portrait. 

THE NATURAL AND USUAL STATE OF SILENT 
THOUGHT OR CALM REFLECTION. 



The first portrait presents the counte- 
nance in a state of repose, under the 
influence of silent thought and calm 
reflection. 



Second Portrait. 

A GENTLE SMILE, UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF 
KINDLY SENSATIONS. 



The second portrait exhibits the features 
(under the influence of kindly sensations) 
modified with a smile which may be appro- 
priately termed the Ingenuous Smile, happily 
illustrating the words of the poet — 

" Her mouth, which a smile, 
Devoid of all guile, 

Half opened to view, 
Is the bud of the rose, 
In the morning that blows, 
Impearled with the dew. 

Old Ballad. 



Third Portrait. 



EXHIBITING THE EXPRESSION OF MODERATE 
LAUGHTER. 



The third portrait represents the face 
during the action of moderate laughter, 
caused by thoughts, words, or actions of 
an incongruous, absurd, or ridiculous cha- 
racter. This is invariably accompanied by 
short jerking emissions of breath, giving 
rise to a rapid succession of abrupt and 
involuntary sounds which are neither 
melodious nor agreeable. 



Fourth Portrait. 



DISPLAYING THE INFLUENCE OF HEARTY 
LAUGHTER. 



The fourth portrait displays the influence 
of a hearty fit of laughter, which is inva- 
riably caused by extravagant, outrageous, 
and egregious nonsense. We go to see 
the pantomime to enable us to realise this 
extreme convulsion. 



APPENDIX, 

COLLATERAL AND EXPLANATORY. 



SECTION I. 

On the various species of tickling, physical, 
intellectual, and moral. 

1. All gentle friction or rubbing of the 
body may be classed under the generic term 
of tickling, and may be appropriately de- 
nominated 'physical tickling. 

2. But the mind may be — and can be — * 
and very frequently is — tickled quite as 
effectually as is the physical organism. 

3. The intellect is susceptible of being 
tickled by ideas, and the moral faculties — in 



146 The Philosophy of 

combination with, the intellect — can be 
tickled on witnessing the representation of 
certain actions, generally of a vulgar or im- 
moral character. 

4. Now it is very well known that every 
species of physical, intellectual, or moral 
tickling gives rise- — in a greater or less 
degree — to those convulsive gaspings and 
wrinkled distortions of the countenance 
which characterise the phenomenon of 
laughter. 

5. The superficial nervous papillae are 
tickled by physical contact of some foreign 
substance, and then laughter is mechanically 
induced, entirely without the concurrence or 
accompaniment of either intellectual per- 
ception or moral sensation. 

6. The reading or oral recital of the 
•details of any incongruous, absurd, or 
grotesque transaction, or the recounting of 



Laughter and Smiling. 147 



nonsensical, outrageous, or obscene incidents 
or anecdotes, will tickle the intellect of those 
whose intellects are effeminate, stunted, or 
warped, or have not been properly trained ; 
and the result will be cachinnations of a 
more or less stentorious character, according 
to the degree of piquancy in the description 
or anecdote. 

7. Again. The moral faculties of those 
whose moral faculties are but slightly 
influenced by any moral principles (and 
these constitute all but a mere tithe of the 
community) are stimulated by witnessing 
the operations of any kind of practical jokes, 
and then the vociferations of laughter are 
loud and deep in proportion to the amount 
of mischief, annoyance, or pain which the 
practical joke may inflict upon the victim. 

8. The intensity of the laughter at prac- 
tical jokes generally reaches a higher obstre- 



148 The Philosophy of 

perous pitch than the laughter occasioned 
by any other stimulus. 

9. Now let us seriously ask — what 
amount of common sense, what amount of 
benevolence, or of any other moral virtue, 
can there exist in the minds of those who 
are excited into boisterous raptures at the 
exhibition of gratuitous mischief or reckless 
cruelty ? 



Laughter and Smiling. 14.9 



SECTION II. 

Eemarks on the effects of physical tickling. — Quoted 
from a French cyclopaedia. 

1. Chatouillement, c'est-a-dire, tm at- 
toucliement particulier qui porte sur la peau 
une impression qui fait rire. 

2. Mais si le chatouillement est long- 
temps continue, l'impression augmente de 
maniere quelle ebranle tres-disagreablement 
les nerfs et la sensibilite. 

3. La circulation et les mouvements 
musculaires se font irregulierement — Fame 
meme et la raison perdent leur empire. 

4. Toute la machine est dans un etat 
violent, qui est accompagne de cris de 



150 , The Philosophy of 

douleur, de spasmes, de convulsions, de * 
vomissements, de priapismes, d' evacuations 
involuntaires de l'urine et de la semence ; 
enfin, on a vu, plus d'une fois, cet etat 
contre nature, suivi de la mort. 



Laughter and Smiling. 151 



SECTION III. 

On the extremely horrible and agonising condition 
to which a huinan being can be reduced by 
systematic tickling. 

1. The following vivid description of the 
exquisitely fiendish application of tickling 
is an extract from the very interesting view 
of modern society which is truly portrayed 
in that remarkable production entitled 
Valentine Vox, of which the principal and 
most extraordinary incidents are founded on 
facts concerning which the author (Mr. 
Henry Cockton) made himself thoroughly 
acquainted by personal investigation. 

2. Mr. Goodman, the victim of the dia- 



152 The Philosophy of 

bolical treatment about to be described, bad 
been placed in a private lunatic asylum by 
his own brother, on the altogether false 
pretence that he was insane and incapable 
of managing his affairs or taking care of 
himself; the real and only object being to 
possess his property. 

3. Commissioners are legally appointed 
to visit these private asylums to ascertain the 
state of the inmates and to see that their 
treatment is both judicious and humane. 

4. It was on the occasion of one of these 
visitations that the following scene oc- 
curred : — 

5. Mr. Goodman, who is aware that the 
commissioners would shortly arrive, was 
preparing to prove to them that he was in 
the perfect possession of all his faculties, 
and felt confident that he would succeed and 
regain his liberty. 



Laughter and Smiling. 153 

6, He had scarcely time to decide on the 
commencement of his address before the 
head keeper entered the yard where he was 
Walking, and shouted to him — " Now then, 
here, you ! This way — here — you're 
Wanted!" 

7& yfc $fc $fc 

; 7. Goodman joined him at once with the 
utmost firmness. He felt that all depended 
upon his tranquil bearing then, and hence 
determined not to notice any indignity that 
might be offered. 

. 8. Instead, however, of being introduced 
to the commissioners, who were appro- 
priately taking wine in the drawing-room, 
the keeper led him to the cell in which he 
slept, and in which he found another keeper 
loaded with an armful of chains. 

" Now then !" shouted the principal ruf- 
fian, " come, strip ! and look alive !" 



154 The Philosophy of 

"Am I not to see the commissioners ?" 
inquired Goodman calmly. ) 

" And no mistake you are. They are 
coming directly. So you'd better look sharp." 

" Pray/' said Goodman, humbly yet 
earnestly, " allow me to see them as. I am." 

" Strip, I say, and be quick ! D'ye hear 
me ? Come, I'm not going to stand all this 
here dilly-dallying. Sam, here just lug off 
his coat." And the fellow threw the chains 
upon the ground and tore the coat off 
accordingly. 

" My good man, pray tell me your 
m 

" Silence !" interrupted the ruffian. " Hold 
your mouth, or I'll make yer !" 

The very moment the coat was off they 
slipped on a strait- waistcoat, and then threw 
him down upon the bed ; and while one of 
them was fastening an iron collar round his 



Laughter and Smiling. 155 

neck, and locking the chain attached to a 
stanchion, the other was engaged in pulling 
off his shoes and stockings, and chaining his 
legs firmly to the bottom of the bed. 

Goodman remained silent. " Let them 
do what they please," thought he, " I shall 
still have the power to speak to the commis- 
sioners. Let them load me with chains. I 
must not be excited." 

The sleeves of the strait-waistccat were 
now tied to the bedstead on either side ; his 
bare feet were chained securely ; he was 
unable to move hand or foot ; he had not 
even the power to raise his head. 

" Now," said the principal ruffian, ad- 
dressing his assistant, " do you go down, and 
let me know when they're a-coming." 

The fellow obeyed, and the moment he 
had done so the keeper deliberately drew a 
feather from his breast, and having straight- 



156 The Philosophy of 

ened it, and looked at it with an air of the 
most intense satisfaction, knelt down at the 
foot of the bed. 

" "What, in Heavens name," thought 
Goodman, " is about to take place ? My 
good man/' he exclaimed, in a state of 
alarm, "what — what are you going to do 
with me ?" 

Scarcely had the last word been uttered 
when the miscreant began to tickle the soles 
of his victim's feet. 

"Oh! oh!" exclaimed Goodman. "Oh 
Do not ! Pray do not ! Oh, God ! I can- 
not endure it! Mercy! Murder! Murder! 
Murder !" And he struggled and shrieked ; 
and the more he shrieked and struggled the 
more quickly was the feather applied. 

The blood rushed to his head. He strained 
horribly. The torture was exquisite. His 
cries might have pierced the heart even of a 



Laughter and Smiling. 157 

fiend; yet that wretch still kept on the 
dreadful process. " My God ! my God VI 
exclaimed Goodman. "What agony V 9 

These were the last words he consciously 
uttered ; for the veins began to swell, and 
his face became black, and his eyes appeared 
to be in the act of starting from their sockets. 
The room shook with his convulsions. He 
raved with maniacal fury. In a word, he 
had been goaded to madness. 

" They are here ! — they are here !" said 
the assistant, rushing into the room. 

" All right — I've done the trick V 9 said 
the miscreant, concealing the feather, and 
throwing a blanket over the feet of his 
victim. 

The commissioners entered. Goodman 
was a maniac, laughing and raving 
alternately — torturing his features into 
shapes the most hideous — writhing with 



158 The Philosophy of 

frightful energy to get loose, and screaming 
horribly. V. 

" Here is the poor -man/' observed the 
humane proprietor with an expression of the 
purest sympathy. " Poor gentleman! Eeally 
it is enough to make one's heart bleed to see 
him." 

i " Dreadful !" criedone of the commissioners. 
' " Dreadful indeed !" exclaimed another. 

" Poor fellow ! Is he often thus ?" in- 
quired a third. 

"Not very often so out-and-out bad, sir," 
replied the brutal keeper ; " only about twice 
a week, and he's much to be pitied. There 
aint a patient I pities more than him." 
And he winked at the proprietor, and the 
proprietor winked at him, as the commis- 
sioners drew near to the bedside, while poor 
Goodman was shouting, " Villains ! — murder ! 
— fiends !" He was mad — raving mad ! 



Laughter and Smiling. 159 



The commissioners were satisfied. Accus- 
tomed as they had been to such scenes, this 
struck them with horror, and they pre- 
pared to leave the room. 

"It's shocking when they are so/' ob- 
served the Christian proprietor, " truly 
shocking. Take care of him, Johnson ; treat 
him tenderly, poor man 1" 

" I will, sir, depend on't," replied the 
keeper ; and the commissioners quitted the 
room much affected. 

The very moment they had left the 
miscreant burst into a loud roar of laughter, 
and congratulated himself on the success of 
his brutal experiment. He had tried it 
before frequently ; and although one of his 
victims had died under the dreadful opera- 
tion, while another had been struck with 
paralysis, and a third had been reduced to a 
state of idiotcy, in which he continued till 






160 The Philosophy of 

. . i - a . 

death, it had occasionally so far failed as to 
induce almost immediate exhaustion, which 
had been found not to answer the proposed 
end so well. 

In this case, however, he had been per* 
fectly successful, and therefore, after having 
remained in the room until the commissioners 
had quitted the asylum, he left his raving 
victim with a fiend-like smile, to receive the 
applause of his infamous master. 



Laughter and Smiling. 161 



SECTION IV. 

On Mr. Darwin's opinions respecting laughter. 

1. Mb,. Darwin discusses the subject of 
laughter at considerable length in his 
extremely interesting volume on the 
Expression of the Emotions. 

2. He there declares (p. 119) that idiots 
and imbecile persons afford good evidence 
that laughter or smiling primarily expresses 
mere happiness or joy. 

3. He says — "Dr. Crichton Browne in- 
forms me that with idiots laughter is the 
most prevalent and frequent of all the 
emotional expressions. 

4. " Many idiots are morose, passionate, 
restless, in a painful state of mind, or utterly 



162 The Philosophy of 

stolid, and these never laugh. Others fre- 
quently laugh in a quite senseless manner. 

5. " There is another large class of idiots 
who are persistently joyous and benign, and 
who are constantly laughing or smiling. 
Their countenances often exhibit a stereo- 
typed smile. 

6. "Their joyousness is increased, and 
they grin, chuckle, or giggle whenever food 
is placed before them, or when they are 
caressed, or are shown bright colours, or hear 
music. 

7. " Some of them laugh more than usual 
when they walk about or attempt any mus- 
cular exertion. 

8. "The joyousness of most of these idiots 
cannot possibly be associated (as Dr. Browne 
remarks) with any distinct ideas; they 
simply feel pleasure, and express it by 
laughter or smiles." 



Laughter and Smiling. 163 

. 9. Our sincere conviction, after much 
experience and consideration, compels us 
to dissent from the opinion which is so 
distinctly expressed and reiterated in the 
above extract — namely, that laughter in 
idiots " primarily expresses mere happiness 
or joy;" — "they simply feel pleasure, and 
express it by laughter." 

10. On the contrary, we are rather in- 
clined to think that, on a careful and critical 
analysis of our various states of consciousness 
under any circumstances, it will be found 
that the experience of happiness, joy, or even 
pleasure (properly so called), never does mani- 
fest itself by bursts or fits of laughter. 

In well-balanced and intelligent minds it 
certainly never does . We leave ill-regulated, 
ignorant, and vulgar minds altogether out 
of the question as not being fit subjects to 
reason upon or draw any inference from. 



164 The Philosophy of 

11. The fact appears simply to be this — 
that in the case of every form of idiotcy the 
brain and nervous system are irretrievably 
diseased or deranged; the thoughts (if 
thoughts they may be called) are altogether 
irrational; the feelings are perverted and 
unnatural. 

12. Under these circumstances, and in 
such a state of affliction, what kind or degree 
of happiness, or joy, or pleasure can possibly 
be realised? 

13. They can unquestionably feel hunger 
and thirst, and experience painful sensations, 
but they can scarcely be said to think ; and 
what pleasure, may we ask, or what enter- 
tainment can a human being enjoy who does 
not possess the power of thought ? He can 
barely have a consciousness of his existence, 
if even that. 

14. In the foregoing extract from Mr. 



Laughter and Smiling. 165 

Darwin laughing is shown to be a striking 
characteristic of idiotcy, and this exactly 
corroborates the theory set up in the preceding 
chapters of this treatise. 

1 5. Sensible people — as may be observed 
every day — seldom laugh ; and there are all 
degrees of laughers, from the wise and deco- 
rous, who rarely laugh, to the weak-minded 
fools, who very frequently laugh. 

16. The laughing propensity gradually 
increases, in the same proportion as the 
weakness of mind increases, until we arrive 
at the lowest stage of mental vacuity, in 
which the habit of laughing becomes per- 
manent and incessant. 

17. It must be borne in mind that all 
the idiots and imbeciles who are referred 
to in Mr. Darwin's remarks were recklessly 
tomfooled in their infancy (in common 
with other children) by monkey tricks, 



166 Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling. 

buffoonery, and tickling to make them 
laugh. 

18. They thus got into the habit of laugh- 
ing at an early age, and not possessing 
rational minds, they could not, of course, 
acquire any rational habits. 

19. The silly, unmeaning habit of laugh- 
ing, therefore, constitutes their only habit, 
and being so frequently exercised, becomes 
strengthened and inveterate, and, conse- 
quently, persistent and incessant. 



LONDON: 
HUNTED EY JAS. WADE, TAVISTOCK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 







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